GLAS, an independent provider of finance administration services, has opened an office in Sydney, coinciding with the key senior hire of lawyer Kate White.
The Sydney office expands the GLAS business in Australia following the opening of its Melbourne office in 2016.
Since entering the Australian market last year, GLAS has seen significant interest in its finance administration services from lenders, borrowers, issuers and advisers across the loan and debt markets.
Specialising in complex deals including loan and bond restructurings, GLAS has already taken key roles in major deals such as the Atlas Iron restructuring; the buy-out of SAI Global, where it acts as facility agent and security trustee over both first and second line debt; and more recently security trustee for the complex Emeco restructuring, currently underway.
Barnaby Webb, head of GLAS Australia, says: “Since opening the office in Melbourne towards the end of last year, we feel extremely fortunate to have been given the opportunity to work on a number of high-profile Australian-based deals enabling us to demonstrate our unique offering. While firms providing similar independent Agent and Security Trustee services have been operating in the European and US markets for a number of years now, it is a relatively new concept to the Australian market. We have been overwhelmed by the positive response received thus far. We are very excited to have Kate joining us given her deep understanding of the local market and extensive network, as well as fulfilling our wish to replicate the operating model of our highly successful London business through the establishment of a dedicated in-house legal team to service our Australian offices, a key differentiator to other firms that have traditionally operated in this space.
“Kate is a senior lawyer with experience across the areas of restructuring, insolvency and finance. Most recently, she led an in-house team at NAB responsible for providing legal and risk management advice in connection with the management of impaired corporate and institutional loan exposures.”
White adds: “I can see huge demand for alternative, independent, conflict-free service providers in this space, and that’s what made this opportunity so attractive. Since bursting onto the local scene last year, GLAS has already made a real impact in the market and I look forward to driving further growth by providing the transparent, efficient service the market needs.”
